Jump Start # 2440

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Our verse today is something that is really needed these days. “Cease striving,” or, “Be still,” as others translate it is something that folks don’t seem to get much anymore. Fussing and fighting fills the air from Washington, to the ball fields, to our congregations and into our homes. And, before all of this eruption of emotion begins, there is always an unsettling within our hearts. People aren’t calm. We seem to run from crisis to crisis, problem to problem, issue to issue, and if there isn’t any trouble to be found, we go looking for it. Be still, is not about sitting still, it’s about being still on the inside. Peace, contentment, calm are qualities that are found in souls that follow the Lord.

The verse has two parts to it and they are bridged together. You need both parts. The first part is stop being bothered. The other part is about trusting God. One can’t really cease striving until he has learned to know God, trust God and turn things over to God. Let God run the universe for a while. The reason there is so much striving is because folks don’t know the Lord. This isn’t about information, but rather transformation. We may know God is there, but we still can’t let go and give things to Him.

The idea of “striving” or, not “being still,” is the same as being agitated on the inside. It’s the idea of being bothered. Martha was bothered that her sister wasn’t helping her serve the Lord. A man was bothered that his brother wasn’t sharing the inheritance with him. The disciples were bothered that the Canaanite woman was wanting Jesus to heal her possessed daughter. And, for you and I, the “bothered” list can be long and exhaustive. It gets to a point that too many things bother us and we get bothered that we are bothered. We are bothered in the summer because it’s too hot and dry. In the Spring, it’s too cool and wet. In the winter, it’s too cold. And, the fall has too many leaves to rake up. We are bothered about politics. We are bothered that our favorite teams don’t do as well as we’d like. We are bothered about the economy, the price of gas, the cost of food and then there is the subject of health insurance. Switch subjects to church, and we get bothered by long sermons, same songs being led, people sitting where we want to sit, and rambling prayers. The running kids bothers us in church. At home, it’s that there is nothing on TV, even though we have 300 channels to choose from. We are bothered by messy rooms, fighting kids, and the fact that no one will take the dog out. At work, it’s all the work. It’s co-workers who won’t work. It’s long hours. It’s the changing benefits. It’s corporate policies that make no sense.

Bothered, bothered, bothered. It’s no wonder so many folks are short with each other, road rage is a real problem, and people seem to always have a chip on their shoulders. All this striving leaves a person unhappy, sour and complaining. It’s hard to be thankful when one is bothered about so many things. Have you noticed how few people are smiling these days. Weary and heavy laden, not from recognizing the sin and the guilt that they carry, but by being bothered about life. Grumpy may have been one of the seven dwarfs, but grumpy is the state of mind for many people these days.

So, the Psalmist tells us to “cease striving,” or, “be still.” Great advice. It’s like telling a guy to lose weight or don’t be in debt. Everyone would like to get there, but how. How do we “cease” striving? How do we be still? Here’s some thoughts:

First, you decide what bothers you. You can let everything bother you or very little bother you. You see a guy parking in the handicap parking and he has no tag or license plate that allows him to do that. He hops out of his truck and walks faster than you can. There is no one else in his truck. It seems that he is lazy and doesn’t want to park in a regular spot. Now, are you going to let that bother you? Are you going to allow him to ruin your day and will this be the subject of your conversations the rest of the day? You could say something to this guy and probably into an argument. You could report this to the store manager. Or, you could leave it to Lord. Why allow your day to go downhill because of something like this.

The weather, you can allow it to bother you, or you can pray to the Lord and go on with your day. There are so many things that we allow ourselves to be bothered about that are beyond our control. The senseless fighting in Washington, the economy, the endless number of round-a-bouts, no one is going to call you about these things, no one is going to seek your approval of these things. You can let these things shape your day, or you can decide not to be bothered by them. Your choice! You decide what will bother you.

Second, knowing the Lord is a matter of understanding that God remains upon the throne. He was there through Pharaoh, through the Assyrians, through the Babylonians, through the Greeks, through the Caesars, through every world power and even through the Americans. Trust God. He knows what He is doing. God is good. God’s will cannot be thwarted by anyone.

Third, allowing yourself to be bothered paints a wrong picture of Christianity. Worried. Upset. Angry. Fearful. These are not the components of hearts that are governed by Christ. Pray more and worry less. God’s people have hid their babies by bulrushes. They have been in lion’s dens. They have been in fiery furnaces. They have been chased. They have been put in prisons. They have been beaten. They have been poorly treated. Yet, God is not only aware of these things, He has a home awaiting the righteous. This world is not our home and we do not fit in here. Things are wrong here. Yet, in the end, God will be victorious.

Finally, this is something that you can do. Cease striving, was written back in the days before Christ came to earth. It was written before salvation was available. It was written when in a time when people did not have rights, nor a vote. Cease striving is something that can be done. It’s up to you.

Bothered or blessed—how do you view life? It shows in your face and it shows in your words and attitudes.

Roger

Jump Start # 2250

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Cease striving. Other translations express this simply as, “Be still.” You can hear a mother telling her busy and fussy child to sit still. Be still is hard for many of us. We want to be right in the thick of things. We want to run things. Sitting still and allowing God to be God is hard.

I read a report recently about the large numbers of Americans regularly taking antidepressants. More than 12% of the population and more staggering by age, those over 60, 19% take antidepressants. The same report also indicated that it’s hard to stop using antidepressants once a person has started.

One thing that the Bible hardly touches at all is the subject of mental issues. Jesus talked about being anxious or worry. Paul admitted to being depressed but was refreshed and encouraged when God sent Titus to him. And, in the Old Testament, King Saul seemed to lose it completely when he became obsessed with killing David. His mental stability appears to be very shaky and volatile. Demon possession wasn’t a mental problem. Demons were real spirits that inhabited a person. They were cast out miraculously by the hand of God.

But today, things seem so different. There are layers and layers of various psychological and mental issues, some even getting into serious mental illness. And, according to the current stats, as a person grows older, these things get worse, not better. I’m baffled by these things. It’s hard to put a finger on why in the past decade there has been a huge increase in the use of prescription drugs to deal with life’s issues.

Here are a few thoughts:

First, because a person needs antidepressants does not mean he is “crazy.” There are a lot of chemical imbalances that can take place within a person and often medicine can help even out those imbalances.

Second, we see with this specific situation, that we do not always find common examples in our Bibles. We do not find anyone using antidepressants in the Bible, mostly because as we know them today, they weren’t invented. In fact, aside from Paul telling Timothy to take some wine for his stomach ailments, we do not read hardly anything in the Bible about medicine. The Bible isn’t a history book of the times. It is God’s word for us to live righteously and to prepare ourselves for Heaven. The absence of information or lack of example does not mean something is right or wrong.

Thirdly, and I say this delicately, in a secular society, secular doctors are going to prescribe medicines more often than expect us to walk by faith. Life is hard. Storms come. There are days we have to go visit the funeral home. There are days when our journeys take us through the dark valleys of death. Maybe medicine can calm us. Maybe it can help us to be functional and stable. But maybe, just maybe, there are times we must rely upon the Lord to get us through. I wonder sometimes if our lives are built upon medicine and not upon the rock, which is Jesus. I have heard people say, “I couldn’t get through a day without my medicine.” I’d much rather hear, “I couldn’t get through the day without Jesus.” And, I understand that I do not understand much of this. I’m just a preacher, but I’m seeing less and less relying on faith, patience and having the courage to endure and more and more talk about having to take medicine in order to cope and get through. Medicine needed to sleep. Medicine needed to get going. Medicine needed to have the right attitude and be in a good mood. It just seems like a lot of medicine. How did folks get by before this age of medicine? How did they do it in the first century?

Fourth, I wonder if the breakdown of the home, the empty lives and the lack of true Biblical faith has led to so much of the mental issues in our country. So many of the mass shootings have come from unstable and violent people getting guns and then killing as many as they can. Why does a person think that way? It doesn’t just happen. There has been a long and gradual process of contributing factors that have included not valuing life, not respecting authority, and not thinking Biblically nor correctly.

Fifth, it’s hard for me to understand why the 60 and over crowd are the largest group using antidepressants. By this time in life, you have experienced ups and downs. You have seen good and bad. You have journeyed long enough that you ought to have learned a few things and figured out a few things. Is it because this group is aging, hurting and the outer man is decaying. What these stats indicate is that the outer man decays and the inner man is decaying as well. We are not being renewed day by day as Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 4.. We are not getting better on the inside. The outside is shaping the inside. Again, a lifetime without God and a lifetime of always being in charge and now the nearing of death, probably has many folks scared, uncertain and anxious. It ought to. The answer is not in a pill but in Jesus Christ. It may just be we are witnesses houses collapse that have been built upon sand for decades. The reality now comes and some just do not know what to do.

Again, let me say this so no one misunderstands. For some people, there is a real need for medicine to help them. The imbalance is so great that without medicine they could not function. That’s true of some, but is it true for all of us?

I think of the song, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.” Life will slap you. Life can be ugly. Things can be complicated and difficult. Look what Paul went through. Look at David when chased throughout the country by Saul. We will face our Goliaths. The world will not agree nor like us. Life is not fair, nor nice. Young people die. Those that are doing right are not recognized. Satan won’t leave us alone. The world is telling us to blend in and be like it. Some days the journey seems long and lonely. It’s not a pill that will get us through but Jesus. Be still and know that I am God. Mediate. Read Scriptures. Pray. Focus upon the Lord. Count your blessings. Get out of your cave and go do something in the kingdom, as God told Elijah. Rather than holding our hands and telling us that it’s ok, what we often need is a kick in the pants and a command from God to get about doing what He wants us to do.

Faith. That’s what much of this comes down to. Are our times so much more difficult than other times? I wonder about my sweet grandma. She had two sons, one was my dad. Both boys, one in the army and the other in the marines, were off to the other side of the world fighting in WW II. No communications. She had no idea where they were. But many families were just like that. What she did was attend worship weekly and pray diligently. Her boys both came home. That wasn’t the case for so many of her neighbors. Some families got through those times and others never did. But go back even further. Middle Europe and massive plagues that took thousands of lives. Go back more. Babylonian captivity. Egyptian oppression. How did people make it? Some did and others didn’t. Mostly, those that did, it was by faith. That is the constant through the ages.

Now, here we are. Nothing has changed. How are we going to get through these times? By faith.

My hope is built upon nothing else…

Roger

Jump Start # 1298

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

  I read recently that a detailed research study was conducted by Cornell University on the best way to survive a zombie apocalypse. The study revealed that the chances of survival in most U.S. cities would be limited to only a few weeks. However, the study showed that in remote areas that are not heavily populated and especially in elevated areas, the survival rate could last several months. The conclusion reached was the those in the eastern U.S. should travel to mountains of Colorado, Utah and Montana, in order to survive.

Several things were of interest to me in this study.

First, zombies do not exist. I am a fan of Walking Dead and my wife is convinced that there could be some in the woods behind our house, but the reality is medically, spiritually and logically, zombies do not exist. How do you study something that does not exist? How do you do a “detailed study” on something that isn’t there?

Second, it took a detailed study to come up with a conclusion that most twelve year olds could tell you? Common sense says get away from people, if zombies were real. But they are not.

Finally, no studies are free. Who paid for this? Why would someone pay for this? What a waste of money and time. Is this where academia has gone? Universities studying non-existent zombies and coming up with an escape plan that will never be used? It would not surprise me if some universities started offering classes in Zombie 101. Then, some college kid will switch his major to zombies, and spend four years running up student loans and getting a degree in advanced zombieism  that will do absolutely nothing for him. Where is he gong to get a job? What good are those studies?

What is baffling in all of this is that for many who head up these studies, they have more belief in zombies than they do God. They would think a threat of running into a zombie is more likely than running into God after we die. More people would be interested in things that do not exist than things that do exist. Bring up the subject of UFO’s and you’ll find all kinds of interests, theories, studies and books written. Pass out flyers announcing a lecture on UFO’s or zombies and the house will be packed. Do the same with a lecture on God and only the church family shows up. Why? Superstition, speculation and wild assumptions can draw the attention of us more than what we really know. Even among believers, we can chase ideas that cannot be known and spend a lot of time discussing, debating and trying to figure out things that do not advance our relationship with the Lord nor build our faith. The curious mind can become unglued and led to areas that are false, dangerous and counter productive to our faith.

Our verse today declares, “Know that I am God.” Know Him. Believe Him. Paul said, “I know whom I believe.” The proof of God is around us in nature. The universe, without saying a word, declares God, as Psalms 19 states. Then there is the Bible. Proof. Witnesses. Evidence. Real names. Real places. Accurate. Sensible. Real. We need to pour our efforts into knowing Jesus, the real Jesus. Watch Him. See Him. Notice how He is around people. Notice that He never screamed, “Leave Me alone.” Notice, He never turned and said to Peter, “You bother me.” He never lost His focus. He never got side tracked. He never got bogged down and forgot why He was here and what He was doing. See Jesus around people. He saw things that others didn’t. He cared when others didn’t. He allowed others to interrupt Him, question Him and even challenge Him. He was thoroughly examined by the critics. He was, as Peter declares, the chief stone that was rejected. Those closed minds and stubborn hearts had no room for the real Jesus. He didn’t fit into their mold, their theology nor their thinking. We must be sure that the same doesn’t happen to us.

The current flavor of the month that is rapidly spreading across this country is for someone to declare that they are spiritual but not religious. That doesn’t make much sense. It’s falls into the zombie category for me.   What it typically means, especially to the twenty and thirty year old crowd, is that I like Jesus but I don’t belong to any church, have room for any doctrine, rules, teachings or structure. “I’m a Jesus person,” as one  declared in a leading magazine. Boiled down this means, I like Jesus when it’s cool to like Jesus and when it fits into my schedule. However, when it doesn’t, this amazing Jesus will allow me to party with my friends, being a bit loose in my morals and let my hair down. Spiritual without religious means I don’t pay much attention to the Jesus of the Bible. Commitment, sacrifice, dedication doesn’t fit into the Spiritual but not religious crowd. They don’t get worked up about whether Jesus is coming back, what we are supposed to do and any of those things. Just sit around in a circle, hold hands, and repeat, “I love Jesus,” over and over. It seems that these folks missed the hippie movement so they have their Jesus movement. Churches are catering to such nonsense. Books are being written that promote this stuff. You won’t find the Bible saying anything positive about this.

Jesus said to deny self, take up your cross and follow Me. Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus said if you love Me, keep My commandments. Jesus said, if you are not with Me, you are against Me. Jesus said. Oprah confessed many years ago that her god accepts homosexuals. That is true. Her god does. I don’t know who her god is, but like the spiritual but not religious crowd, we can make up a god that fits our thinking. Instead of we changing, some try to change god. The problem with that is you cannot change the real God. We must conform to Him.

Zombies, UFO’s, Spiritual but not religious—they are all very similar. Unfounded. Ungrounded. And sadly, without God. Don’t get caught up in chasing after the wind. Don’t waste time on things that do not matter. Set your mind on things above. Fill your heart with what is true and right. Our faith rests in the one true and living God.

Be still and know that I am God.

Roger

Jump Start # 1183

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God.”

Cease striving—other translations word this, “Be still.” A footnote in the New American Standard version says, “Let go, relax.” Interesting words. Be still. Relax.

Have you noticed that we are a hurried society? Everyone is always on the go. We drive fast. We talk fast. We eat fast. We rush through a day doing so much that we are worn out by the end of it. We live with technology that makes things easier on us, but we haven’t slowed down. There was a time when cooking and washing took the whole day. Not anymore. We can travel farther and easier than ever before. We can communicate faster and easier than ever before. But here we are, too busy, too much to do.

This fast pace affects us, both on the inside, the outside and the upside. It’s hard to build meaningful relationships without devoting time to it. Our hurried pace leaves our friendships shallow and superficial. There isn’t time for deep discussions. The result leaves many people feeling lonely. They are not alone, only lonely. Lonely in a crowd. Lonely in a church. Lonely in a family. We need people to talk to. We need a “fellowship” with our church family. It’s hard to confess our sins to one another when we barely know one another. We know we ought to stop by the hospital and visit one of our members, but we just can’t today. Maybe tomorrow. What happens is that we hear announced at church that they were released and are home now. We were going to go, but…

This fast pace leaves us empty when it comes to God. All relationships, including one with God, take commitment, time and effort. Busy people just can’t do that. They are too busy. So, something receives the short end. Much too often, it may be God. Our songs often remind us of this problem. “Take time to be holy…” Love to but I don’t have any extra time this week. “Sweet hour of prayer,” actually becomes a few squeezed sentences here and there. “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” No, didn’t have time. Woke up, mind racing, so much that has to be done that it’s leap out of bed and hit the floor running. For some of us, the only time we open our Bible is during church. Just don’t have the time. Would like to…want to…but can’t find the time.

These words haunt many of us. We know that they are true. Be still and know that I am God. This hit me the other day. I was in a hurry, of course. Was driving down the road and looked into the mirror and noticed my hair was a mess. I got to the office and went into the bathroom and realized my hair wasn’t combed. I’d shaved, showered but was in such a hurry, I forgot to comb my hair. It dried looking like I just got out of bed. Then I realized, “Are you in such a hurry that you can’t comb your hair?” I simply forgot.

We recognize the problem, what’s the solution? The kids need to be picked up from school to go to practice, the dentist, there is shopping to be done, the yard needs mowing, the dog has to go to the vet, the car needs an oil change, winter’s coming and the house needs some things done, it won’t be long and it’s time to think about Christmas shopping, things are stacking up at work—how do we get off this roller coaster? Is there any hope before retirement? We just sigh and make it through another day, the best we can.

Here are a few suggestions. This is a starting point. Maybe these thoughts will get you thinking about more ways and better ways to connect to the things that are important.

• Before we start the list, take a deep breath and be thankful. You wouldn’t be so busy if you didn’t have the kids, the job, the house. You feel pulled in many directions, but what a blessing each of these are. God has given you talent, people, and blessings in your life. Through these, with these, is how you make your connections.

• Be efficient with your time. We are good at wasting time. Maybe less TV, less facebooking, less running errands back and forth will help. Put thoughts into what you are doing and where you are going. Instead of coming home and going back out, stop on the way home.

– Use time beneficially. While mowing the yard, doing laundry, waiting for kids, sitting in doctor’s offices, sitting in traffic—pray. Make those prayer moments. These “down times” can help you connect with the Lord.

– Keep a Bible with you—either print version or electric. Down times can be reading times. Have a plan of what you want to read each month. Tackle books you haven’t read in a long time. Chase some thoughts that you have questions about. Airport waiting can be a great time to grow spiritually.

– while driving, please do this carefully, call people. This is a time that you can strengthen your fellowship. Call the new family…call someone who has been sick…call a friend. Use the time to build and strengthen relationships.

• Do things with others in the church. Go out to eat with another family. This will build bonds. Travel together. Shop together. Go to a meeting together. Take walks together. Time together builds those relationships.

• Find an solution to the things that eat up your time. Being disorganized kills time. Put things in it’s place. How many mornings start with a search party looking for car keys, shoes, back packs, wallets, cell phones? Time is ticking. We get hurried. Now, we can’t find things, we get stressed. The day can be ruined even before it begins. I am an organized freak. I think there are words and letters for all that, but my day ends with everything where it is supposed to be. The day begins by knowing right where everything is. Being organized—in your house, office– car– garage– heart, will make things run smoothly.

Did you notice the moon last night? What a beautiful picture God sent. Noticing things, people, events—are part of connecting with others. We remember the anniversaries of births, marriages, deaths—sharing those with others builds lives together.

Relax…be still…cease striving and know that I am God. Simple words. They do not just happen because we read them. We must take ownership and control of our schedules. We must put in place the most important things. Life flies by. Now is the time to be building the bridges with others and especially with our Lord.

Work at it. These things will make a difference in your life.

Roger

Jump Start # 550

Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

  This Psalm, like others, makes a shift from talking ABOUT God to God talking to the Psalmist. This chapter illustrates the power and activity of God, especially in calamity. The mountains slip into the sea, our Jump Start yesterday, from verses 1-2, yet God is our refuge and we will not fear. God makes wars cease (9); He “wrought desolations in the earth” (8). He raised His voice and the earth melted (6). God is with us. God is our refuge, our stronghold, our present help. Wonderful expressions from this chapter.

  Cease striving is translated “Be still” in other versions. It’s as if God is placing His finger to His lips and telling us to “hush.” “Be still.” “Cease striving.” Sit down. I like the “be still.” I need that. We all probably need that. We are a busy people. Often too busy with too many irons in the fire to do much good anywhere. We don’t have time to sit on the back deck with friends. We don’t have time to visit. Our prayer life suffers because we are busy. Worship is often quick and short. Going here, going there. In all this busyness, we can rush right by the most important, and that is God. Be still and know that I am God.

  Well, I know that He is God. I’ve known that for a long time. That’s not the point here. It’s not a matter of convincing someone about God—it’s recognizing God, everyday, in my life. He’s there. My busy life can take my eyes off of God and off of the eternal. We can be so tied up with the here and now and the right and the left that we forget that there is an up and a down.

  Be still…Sit down…turn the TV off…put the phone and the other gadgets in other room. You’ll live. You don’t have to see that text message this second. You don’t have to read the email as soon as it hits your inbox. It’s ok, you’ll live. Turn off the music. Take a breath. Now think about God. Think about His holiness. Think about what He wants from you. He has a plan for you, what is it? Think about what God likes…things like truth, goodness, His church, His word, you. Yes, God likes you. Let your mind dwell upon what is good, holy, pure.

  Even during church services, while singing a song about God, our minds are racing. Be still. Slow down. Cease striving. Look upward. Look inward. Look outward. Look backward to the cross. It may be that we have gotten too busy for God. When that happens we are just too busy. Too busy to pray? I hope not. Too busy to read His word? Don’t let that happen. To busy to assemble for worship? No, surely not.

  Be still is not so much about sitting down as it is being calm on the inside. Fear, worry, disappointment and sin can create so much uneasiness in us that we are overcome by those things. Be still is the answer. Jesus came to give peace, a peace unlike the world. A peace that starts inside and works its way out. Calm hearts in the midst of a fractured world. Hearts that are not striving in a world of strife.

 Be still and know that I am God. I am on the throne. I am in charge. I am able to do all things. Be still and know that. Be still and quit trying to solve things without Me. Be still and stop trying to live without Me. Be still and know that I AM.

  I need that reminder. I need that peace. I need that God. Some folks call this “quiet time” with God. I think that idea comes from passages like this. Be still time. Time to recognize God. Time to reflect upon God. Time for God.

  Make an appointment for you and God. Nothing interrupts that appointment. Keep that appointment. Be still…and know God.

Roger